Leyland Eight

Leyland
Leyland Eight touring car 4 seats (1921)
Eight
Production period:	1920-1923
Class :	Upper class
Body versions :	Touring cars , roadsters
Engines:	Otto engine : 6.9–7.3 liters (85–107 kW)
Length:	4648 mm
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :	3200-3810 mm
Empty weight :	1422 kg

The Leyland Eight was a luxury passenger car that Leyland Motors manufactured from 1920 to 1923. The car was designed by Leyland's chief engineer JG Parry-Thomas and his assistant Reid Railton and it was to become the most beautiful car in the world. The Eight was presented to the public in 1920 at the British International Motor Show in Olympia, London , where it was dubbed the "Lion of Olympia".

There were two eight-cylinder engines to choose from: one had a displacement of 6920 cm³ and developed 115 bhp (85 kW) at 2500 rpm, the other had a displacement of 7266 cm³, twin carburettors and an output of 145 bhp (107 kW) 3000 rpm. Both engines were equipped with an overhead camshaft (SOHC) and hemispherical combustion chambers . The chassis had elliptical leaf springs at the front and rear. The brakes (with vacuum brake booster) only acted on the rear wheels.

Factory-made bodies were available as open touring cars with two or five seats. In addition, chassis with drive were delivered to wheelwright . The wagons were very expensive; the powered chassis cost £ 2,500 in 1920, a price that dropped to £ 1,875 in 1922. Only 18 of this most expensive automobile in the UK were made.

Michael Collins , the Irish politician and revolutionary leader, was driving a Leyland Eight when he was shot dead in 1922.

The Leyland-Thomas No. 1 (1924)

Leyland chief engineer JG Parry-Thomas built the Leyland-Thomas, a racing car based on the Leyland Eight.

See also

Arab - a car company founded by Railton

Web links

Commons : Leyland Eight  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

• Culshaw, David & Horrobin, Peter: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895–1975 . Veloce Publishing PLC, Dorchester (1997), ISBN 1874105936 .
• Tours, Hugh: The Leyland Eight . Profile Cars No. 25, Profile Publications.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Georgano, N .: Encyclopedia of the Automobile . HMSO London (2000), ISBN 1-57958-293-1 .
2. ↑ Welsh Motor Sport - Cars (English)  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .  
3. ↑ Histomobile: Leyland in the 1920s (English) ( Memento of the original from July 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . 
4. ↑ Baldwin, N .: AZ of Cars of the 1920s . Bay View Books, Devon (1994), ISBN 1-870979-53-2 .
5. ↑ Welsh Motor Sport - Cars (English)  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .